Three friends who created a business so that they could work together have collected a raft of awards during 2021 and been named among the UK’s brightest new entrepreneurs.
The founders of luxury doughnut company Project D beat off competition from almost 5,000 others to win a Great British Entrepreneur Award in the contest which counts the founders of The LAD Bible, Tangle Teezer and Grenade as former winners.
Max Poynton, Jacob Watts and Matthew Bond were named the 2021 Food and Drink Entrepreneurs by judges including Cath Kidston, former Dragon’s Den star James Caan and Ann Summers’ creator Jacqueline Gold.
It comes on the back of a series of award wins for Project D this year which included two trophies at the Derbyshire Live Business Awards for Start-up Business of the Year and SME Business of the Year.
Project D also won the Entrepreneur of the Year title in the Generation Next Awards, which were delivered in partnership with the University of Derby and form part of East Midlands Chamber’s new network for professionals and business owners aged under 35.
And in the Chamber’s own business awards the company scooped the Small Business of the Year Award.
The firm, which sells handcrafted, brightly coloured and Instagram-friendly doughnuts across the UK, also won the Most Innovative category in the Marketing Derby Food and Drink Awards.
And the company was shortlisted in the prestigious Baking Industry Awards 2021 in both the Rising Star category and Craft Bakery of the Year Award, sponsored by British Baker.
Operation director Max Poynton said: “It’s been quite a rollercoaster since launching Project D and we’ve had a steep learning curve in terms of creating and running a business while navigating a global pandemic at the same time.
“To have our hard work recognised with so many awards has been fantastic and the Great British Entrepreneur success was the icing on the cake for us both because it’s a national award and because it has been given to some truly inspirational business leaders in the past.
“The judges themselves were seriously high profile and just to be in the same room with so many outstanding businesses was a real privilege.
“It’s fair to say that 2021 has been a brilliant year for Project D and we can’t wait to start 2022 – it’s always an adventure.”
Now in its ninth year, the Great British Entrepreneur Awards (in partnership with Starling Bank) celebrate the inspiring stories of entrepreneurs across the UK, recognising the hard work, determination, creativity and resilience required to rise above the rest.
Its most recent headline-grabbing success story is its previous winner, and speaker at this year’s event, Steven Bartlett, who in May was announced as the youngest ever Dragon on BBC’s Dragons Den.
This year, after having to hold the awards virtually in 2020, the organisers brought together all eight of their regional shortlists for the first time, with a guest list of 1,200 entrepreneurs, judges, mentors, investors and partners invited to the London celebration.
Francesca James, founder of the Great British Entrepreneur Awards, said: “It was fantastic to hear the inspiring stories from across the UK after such a difficult few years, and even better to have been able to invite all of our finalists to the in-person ceremony and celebrate together.
“With more than 1,200 people attending, the evening was a real snapshot of the UK economy. The winners were thoroughly deserving, overcoming some stiff competition from their fellow finalists, and we look forward to welcoming them into our alumni community and seeing what they do next.
“It’s always exciting to watch our previous winners go on to achieve amazing things and I don’t expect any less from this year’s award recipients, who we will support all the way.”
